Feral Hogs in Georgia - The Firefly at Madison

We’re going to talk about feral hogs in Georgia now.

Feral hogs are, of course, hogs or their descendants that have escaped confinement, and are wandering around in the countryside. It is estimated that there are between 200,000 and 600,000 of these things in Georgia. The problem has gotten out of hand (like everything does) in Texas where there are several million, and are starting to cause serious economic damage. The economic damage in Georgia is estimated at $150 million per year.

We wouldn’t normally spend much time on the topic, but it is at the intersection of about three different things we’re interested in. It represents a harvestable food source, so it’s about human scale living. Part of it represents local lore and wildlife, which as backroad travelers we like. It also represents weirdness, because it seems a bit weird that these things are literally wandering around near us.

Feral Hogs in Morgan County GA

We will tell you about how close to home this is. According to a 2021 article in the local paper, there is a fellow whose job/hobby it is to go out and find them. Jesse Parker claims to have shot around 200 of these guys in Morgan County over the last several years. For him, feral hogs are at the intersection of about three things he is interested in. This is because his dad is a local wild turkey and deer hunting guide. He has a little business on the side to take care of nuisance animals, and he likes free food.

According to the article, they tend to hang out in Bostwick and around Oconee. Some of the sources below suggest they like to hang out near water, so the river that runs between those places looks like the spot.

Feral Hogs in Georgia: Hogzilla

According to local legend, and the History Channel, of course, Hogzilla was shot in Fayetteville GA a few years ago. This giant wild hog managed to grow to over 1000 pounds, and it took a bobcat to recover him once he was “subdued”. Fayetteville is about 55 miles from Madison.

There are conflicting theories on these giant hogs. In the opinion of some biologists, there is not enough edible matter in the area to allow one of these things to get that big in the wild. The alternate explanation is that it was in captivity, got that big, and then busted out of his confinement. You’d think if you, a farmer, were missing a 1000 pound hog, you would report it to someone.

There are reports in other areas of these things growing to be unnaturally large, although in captivity, they can be fed out to over 2000 pounds.

Are Feral Hogs Dangerous?

According to several of the sources below, feral hogs are highly intelligent, hate people, and if cornered, can and do injure humans. There have been only four reported fatalities over the last 100 years, but plenty of human injury caused by these animals.

The references below suggest that since they are the same species as Wilbur and Arnold Ziffel, they carry “commercial hog” diseases. Therefore even though the babies are cute little piglets, the local farmers would prefer to get rid of them.

According to “Georgia Feral Swine” the current theory is that they’ll never be eradicated completely, and the focus is on “population management.” That’s where the trappers and hog hunters come in.

So can you legally hunt feral hogs in Georgia?

Well, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, there is no limit, and no closed season since they’re non-native. The primary means of control in Georgia is a legal firearm. This is another case where Texas has raised this to a new level, with helicopters and machine guns.

You may hunt these things, with a permit, in a “wildlife management area” which for us, the closest one is in Mansfield. There is another one near the Rock Hawk, which we also blogged awhile back. So there are options.

It’s illegal to try to poison them.

It’s perfectly legal to take a shot at one, even without a permit, as long as it’s on your own property. The illegality comes in when you try to get it “processed.” Some processing facilities won’t take them, because of the disease issue.

The Feral Hog Hunting Industry

You could, if you wanted to, go out in the country, and pay a few dollars for a feral hog hunt on someone else’s property. There is a little industry around central Georgia of hog hunters, guides, and hunting places.

There are also a couple of these down by Mansfield, but the preferred game seems to be wild turkeys.

https://www.fireflymadison.com/2020/10/31/road-trip-to-mansfield/

Eating Feral Hog

Well, Jesse Parker, Local Hero, seems to think it’s fine. The preferred method of preparation is barbecue or smoking them.

Hoover’s Outdoors seems to be the most positive source on the idea, and I have provided a link. The remaining sources of information for this have the modern reflex of trying to scare you a little. Of course, it is true that eating the meat of both tame and wild hogs will make you sick if you leave it out in the sun for a few days.

So, for the common good, it makes sense to get it “processed” promptly, and the consensus is that you should wear gloves while you handle the meat. The question of the day is, which is the most dangerous? The microbe on the pig, or the microbe on you?

Frank Beard, award winning cookbook author, has a recipe for this, which I linked down below.

Story Lines

This is too good. We’re always looking for story lines. A series of Feral Hog movies can and should be written on this, set in beautiful Madison.

A super manly hunting guide is hired by a beautiful farm girl to take care of her pig problem and romance ensues.
A frustrated girlfriend, having trouble with her indifferent, redneck guy, gives him a “hunting trip” for his birthday. A very mysterious accident happens.
Son of Hogzilla terrorizes the residents of a little southern town. Kids are chased around the spooky “Jason Lives” cemetery on prom night. In the end, a hero appears.
A landowner decides to attract feral hogs to her place, so that she can blast them with a firearm. She puts some of the “pig in heat” scent stuff that you can get on her big dog. At some point it works. A Feral Hog appears, and it is either too cute to capture, or too terrifying. This one could be written as a comedy.
A group of sorority girls decides to camp out in a vintage camper. There is a power outage/blizzard/hurricane and the lights go out. There’s a loud noise….
A huge construction project is started. Mysteriously, heavy equipment operators are disappearing one by one….There are hog tracks.

Feel free to suggest your own. Maybe we’ll run a contest.

Feral Hogs in Georgia: The Bottom Line

Are we about to go out and try to capture a feral hog in Georgia to survive Armageddon? Well, deer seems easier, and even more widespread. But, this is an interesting enough story, and just intriguing enough, that we’re not ready to rule it out.

There is an open invitation to Jesse and his dad to come to our place to enjoy the sacraments, and discuss the control of this dangerous animal, and bring sausage if you have any.

Anybody else that wants to come to our place, and scout out the Feral Hog Hunting resources nearby is of course welcome to do so, and bring us some sausage as well. We will share the sacraments with you, too.

Be there in the square.